At the celebration, Leo and Erika faced scrutiny upon their return, but Yugen, watching from a distance, sighed and chose not to intervene—it was their matter.
"Really okay with that?" Mikihiko asked.
"Helping would burn us too. You've been through it," Yugen replied.
"Yeah, true," Mikihiko said, wryly smiling.
Beside him, Mizuki blushed and looked down. Pushed by Sana, they danced at the after-party, facing teasing afterward. Sana's knack for enjoying this hinted at her father's influence.
Colonel Sakai, a hardliner against the Great Asian Alliance and key to altering this year's Nine Schools events, was detained along with his faction. Gozo, guarding Pixie and Minami at the work vehicle, silenced security and subdued Sakai's group. For him, it was merely "warm-up exercise."
While Yugen understood the urge to swiftly eliminate foreign threats, weakening the Alliance could embolden the New Soviet, risking a fourth world war sparked by a Japan-Soviet clash.
Saeki and Kazama handled the Kudou family and other "Nine" clans, likely negotiating now. Yugen grasped the Senate's perspective, but Japan's needs as a nation far outweighed those of larger powers. Chikihime and Gozo understood this, offering some hope.
"You're in the same boat, right? Asked to be the next president," Mikihiko said.
"Elections decide that. You're not one to talk," Yugen countered.
Hattori nominated Yugen as the next club federation president. Though the CAD carryover required a student council election, last year's one-third invalid votes made it nearly certain. Yugen sighed inwardly. Mikihiko, now a First Course student, was eyed for disciplinary committee head, as was Shizuku, who schemed to push it onto him to avoid the hassle.
Amid the clamor of an unprecedented fourth consecutive victory, Yugen felt the fleeting nature of this joy more than anyone.
◇ ◇ ◇
August 16, 2096. Sensing a black-clad group attacking Chinatown via Reiki, Yugen aimed Osiris Sight there from his private room in the Kagurazaka family's Hakone estate.
(Kuroba's unit is cornering Zhou Gongjin… Likely the Senate's doing.)
Zhou's danger warranted elimination during No Head Dragon, Blanche, or the Yokohama Incident, and certainly the Parasite Incident. This event likely tied to him. The Kagurazaka family already grasped the causal links.
Yugen considered assisting but was ordered to stay put for the Tsukiyomi Rite, a family trial. Tatsuya and Fumiya were on-site, unlikely to lag against a skilled sorcerer. As a precaution, Yugen kept Valkyrie and Odin nearby for remote magic. Reiki showed Zhou using Howling Dog to tear off Mitsugu Kuroba's right arm and escape. Though Yugen could've acted, he refrained to keep Zhou in play. Tatsuya healed Mitsugu's arm with Regrowth.
Concluding one chapter, Yugen deactivated Osiris Sight. A voice came from beyond the door, unfamiliar in the estate. He stood.
"Young Lord, the mistress calls," the voice said.
"Got it… What are you doing?" Yugen asked.
Opening the door, Yugen's eyes widened, then narrowed. Mayonaka, in a light kimono like a hot spring worker's, knelt in seiza, with Chikihime, dressed casually, smiling behind her.
"Of course, I'm the Young Lord's attendant," Mayonaka said.
"Come in, both of you," Yugen said.
"Yes, it's chilly outside," Chikihime agreed.
Chikihime hadn't appeared upon entering but explained she assigned Mayonaka as Yugen's attendant. Despite her single-mother-like status, appointing Miyuki's mother, the top fiancée, as a servant seemed absurd. At the kotatsu, Chikihime spoke.
"I propose exempting Yugen from the rite," she said.
"Reason?" Yugen asked.
"Only you can fully activate Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi. Testing you now might crush others' spirits."
Thus, Yugen was confined to his room to avoid jealousy. Shuji and Yume were likely preparing for the rite. Yugen questioned Mayonaka's presence.
"Is it fine to discuss this with her here?"
"Mayonaka's your dedicated attendant, so it's perfect for her to learn about you. You're free to treat her as you wish," Chikihime said.
"As I wish?" Yugen asked.
"Including intimately. A mistress role," Chikihime clarified.
Her boldness aside, Chikihime seemed unfazed by her ex-husband's remarriage to his mistress. Yugen was stunned that Mayonaka accepted a mistress role over fiancée.
Mayonaka explained, "I'm a divorced single mother and don't want to upset Miyuki. I'm content with your affection and genuinely want to serve you. Embrace me as much as you like."
After Chikihime left, saying, "Enjoy yourselves," Yugen grappled with the morality of embracing his fiancée's mother, roughly his mother Shiho's age. But as Mayonaka stood and shed her clothes, his hesitation vanished.
"What are you doing?" Yugen asked.
"Young Lord… Am I not enough?" Mayonaka replied.
Despite self-control, her youthful, alluring body overwhelmed him. A switch flipped, and he pinned her down.
"If you tempt me like that, be ready," Yugen said.
"Yes, do as you please, 'Master,'" Mayonaka replied.
He wouldn't excuse it as "a man's shame to refuse," but her provocation justified his actions. During the Nine Schools, he resisted Miyuki's allure, possibly accumulating stress. He held the final line, though.
The next morning, Yugen sighed at the scene.
"I know it's my fault, but Miyuki's bold," he said.
"You didn't do it during the Nine Schools," Miyuki replied.
During his "night battle" with Mayonaka, Miyuki and Kazuko entered, joining in out of rivalry, leading to an indescribable mess. Mayonaka and Kazuko slept deeply under blankets, while Miyuki clung to Yugen beneath the covers, her actions obvious.
"With competitions, it couldn't be helped… Not mad?" Yugen asked.
"I knew Mother's feelings for you. But I'll never yield first place," Miyuki said.
Yugen had wondered about his endurance limits but avoided breaking anyone physically or mentally. Feeling his vitality surge despite exhaustion, he sighed at his robust body. As a mage, growing stronger was fine, but past-life suppressed desires might be unleashing post-reincarnation. His detached perspective suggested enlightenment.
"The fiancée hierarchy isn't my place to meddle. If you're fine with it, I won't interfere… What's up, Miyuki?" Yugen asked.
"That's why so many women fall for you," she said.
"No idea what you mean," Yugen replied.
He didn't seek women's affection. His prominence was to showcase mage prowess. Beating the Crimson Prince stemmed from seeing his past-life brother's shadow, venting frustration. To Miyuki, those actions maxed out her affection.
Kazuko and Mayonaka, weakened, were healed by Yugen, boosting their affection. Kazuko remarked, "If Airi knew, she'd kill me with jealousy." Last year's after-party jealousy wasn't a joke, so Yugen wished she'd stop.
◇ ◇ ◇
After aiding Tatsuya in Chinatown, Yugen invited him to his Hakone room. Over gyokuro and sweets served by Mayonaka, Yugen spoke.
"Sorry, Tatsuya, for dumping Zhou Gongjin on the Yotsuba. I should've helped," Yugen said.
"No, you had Parasite Dolls and Rosen Magicraft. We're even," Tatsuya replied.
"Let's call it that," Yugen said.
On the Rosen issue, Bastian Rosen's will led to Lucas Rosen's honor restoration by Germany's government. The Vaalburg sisters' transfer was reported to Germany's leader and Karla Schmidt via Chikihime, forcing Rosen Magicraft to ensure employee and family rights and halt East Asian expansion.
"heard about Erika from Mikihiko, but Leo too? Explains his grim spring break," Tatsuya said.
"You didn't know?" Yugen asked.
"Not a topic to pry into, especially with Yotsuba matters," Tatsuya said.
"Fair," Yugen replied.
Ernst Rosen remained Japan branch president but was removed from heir candidacy. Allowing him to keep the Rosen name was lenient. Combat data from the forest was erased from the Vaalburg sisters' memories, keeping Leo and Erika's Parallel Thought-Controlled CADs secret.
"Parasites are a hassle, but the Defense Forces too… and abroad," Yugen said.
"You're sharp today," Tatsuya noted.
"Met Retsu Kudou before you came. He was shocked seeing Mayonaka," Yugen said.
"Even I was stunned by Mother," Tatsuya admitted.
Ernst's inheritance transfer succeeded, with Germany paying Erika and Leo double Anna Rosen-Katori's forfeited share as "compensation." They tried refusing, but Gozo as proxy left no choice.
Yugen's 30-minute talk with Retsu showed relief in his expression. Yugen pressed him: "Then dedicate your life to making Kudou a name Minoru can be proud of."
"That's about it. I'd love a normal high school break," Yugen said.
"Sorry, but that's not happening," Tatsuya said, handing over a data card.
"Something up?" Yugen asked.
Yugen inserted the card into his foldable terminal, reviewing the data and sighing deeply.
"New Humanity Front's Tokyo Offshore Tower bombing plan… Where'd this come from?" Yugen asked.
"Fumiya found it on a terminal in Zhou Gongjin's Chinatown hideout," Tatsuya replied.
Initially probing Zhou's hideout, they uncovered a radical group claiming mages as a new humanity planning to destroy a hyper-building. The 2000-meter Tokyo Offshore Tower, built on Odaiba, countered earthquakes with dampers and FLT's gyro drive shaft for wind resistance.
"Bombing the tower? Insane. If it falls, tsunami debris could devastate Tokyo Bay," Yugen said.
If power failed, mages on the 35th basement floor would rotate the shaft, a dangerous job with high pay. The radicals couldn't tolerate this. A tsunami would cripple Tokyo Bay International Airport for weeks or a month, with incalculable losses and damage to Japan's global credibility. Foreign forces and nations挑発 over magic didn't help.
A pre-opening party for the tower invited Yugen as "Yuto Kagurazaka." Shizuku, Honoka, Miyuki, and Minami would attend, while Tatsuya, disliking attention, assisted the Kuroba siblings against the terror plot.
With original story deviations, Yugen prepared all possible countermeasures, but the rest was up to fate.
Note: The phrasing felt iffy, but the novel's SS volume uses explicit terms for intimacy, so this should be fine. Despite rationality, the protagonist's a teenage boy, unable to resist alluring women, though his top choice remains firm. The latter half ties into the anime-original Visitor Arc, leading to the Old Capital Rebellion Arc.
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